Walk a Country Mile

Take a stroll around your local park, tackle a new hiking trail or explore the
countryside with celebrities as part of National Countryside Week

Reconnect with nature on a walk in the great outdoors and support rural communitiesPhoto: VisitEngland

By Rachel Halliwell

4:30PM BST 30 May 2014

A walk in the countryside: this simple act reconnects us with nature and rural communities; offers up incredible vistas; fills our lungs with fresh air; and gives us time out from our hectic lives. All that, and it’s free.

What better reason to get outside during National Countryside Week, which this year takes place from July 14 to 20? It’s run by The Prince’s Countryside Fund to raise awareness and support our greatest national asset: the country.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund was born out of the Prince of Wales’s concerns for the future of Britain’s rural areas. His Royal Highness has long been a supporter of British farming and country life. Since it was founded in 2010, The Prince’s Countryside Fund has donated £3.87 million in grants, supported over 87 projects across the UK and helped more than 64,000 people.

What makes the fund unique is that it doesn’t support the environment, buildings or wildlife, but the very people who manage and maintain the countryside. And, this year, you can help, too.

Whether you only make it to the local pub or manage 12 miles, it all counts The public are being asked to Walk a Country Mile to raise funds for rural communities to help them become more sustainable.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund is challenging businesses, community groups, villages, families and individuals to take a walk – so they can consider, appreciate, and celebrate the countryside.

Getting involved is easy. You could go for a walk in your local urban park, or visit your nearest woodland, take a walk around your village or head to the hills and explore some of our amazing natural scenery.

A country mile can be any distance, so whether you only make it to the local pub or manage an impressive 12 miles, it all counts.

You can also join one of the organised ‘“Project Walks” being held across the UK. They are run by some of the organisations and charities supported by The Prince’s Countryside Fund.

And a series of “Celebrity Country Mile” walks – with the likes of Phil Vickery and Alan Titchmarsh are taking place at the CLA GameFair at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, too.

Perhaps the last word is best left to HRH Prince Charles: “The British countryside is the unacknowledged backbone of our national identity. It is as precious as any of our great cathedrals and we erode it at our peril.”